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Sunday, 15 December 2013

I finally managed to put my ideas down on paper ... and here they are. They are totally untested, so please do not complain ... yet!

The point of my ITCHY AND SCRATCH NAVAL wargame rules is that they are designed for a quick and fun 'knock-about' naval wargame that can be fought out on a simple grid (preferably a hexagonal one made from Hexon II) using small, cartoon-style models of 1860 to 1890 warships. The do not profess to be anything else ... and should be regarded in this light.

ITCHY AND SCRATCH NAVAL WARGAME RULES

Ships

Ships are allocated a Flotation Value (FV) and a Movement Rate.

A ship’s combat ability depends upon the type of weapons that the ship is equipped with and the range at which it is firing.

Flotation Value (FV)

Type of Ship = Flotation Value

Battleship = 10

Old Battleship = 8

Armoured Cruiser = 6

Unarmoured Cruiser = 4

Torpedo Boat = 2

Flotation Value Rules

Ships are allocated a Flotation Value (FV) before the battle begins; these may be adjusted in order to take into account the ship’s design, armour, and overall fighting power.

Ships lose Flotation Value as a result of enemy action, and these reductions must be recorded (i.e. on a roster or by the use of markers).

When a ship’s Flotation Value (FV) is reduced to 0, the ship is sunk and it is removed from the tabletop.

Exhaustion Point

Before the battle begins both sides calculate their Exhaustion Point. This is one half of the side’s total initial Flotation Values, rounded up.

When a side has lost that proportion of its initial Flotation Values, it has reached its Exhaustion Point.

A side that has reached its Exhaustion Point must immediately stop taking aggressive action (i.e. it will continue to fight to defend itself, but will turn away from the enemy and attempt to disengage).

When both sides have reached their Exhaustion Point the battle ends.

Turn Sequence

For individual ship vs. ship actions, a D6 die is thrown by both sides and the side with the highest score always activates its ship first each turn.

For larger battles each side is allocated a playing card colour (i.e. Red or Black).

A playing card for each ship – of the relevant colour – is withdrawn from a normal pack of playing cards, shuffled, and placed face down somewhere convenient near to the tabletop.

When the battle starts, the top playing card is turned over and the side that has been allocated that playing card colour activates one of their ships. Once that ship has moved and/or fired (both guns and/or torpedoes), the next playing card is turned over … and so on until both side’s ships have moved and/or fired (both guns and/or torpedoes) in turn, subject to any restrictions laid down in the rules.

Both sides must then check to see if they have reached their Exhaustion Point. Once that has been done, the turn is complete, the playing cards can be re-shuffled, and the next turn can commence.

Movement

Type of Ship = Movement Rate

Battleship = 3 grid areas

Old Battleship = 3 grid areas

Armoured Cruiser = 4 grid areas

Unarmoured Cruiser = 4 grid areas

Torpedo Boat = 5 grid areas

Movement Rules

All movement is measured through the edges of the grid areas not the corners.

A ship may be moved only once each turn.

A ship may turn from facing one edge of a grid area to an adjacent edge of the same grid area after moving forward a gird area; this turn reduces its movement by 1 grid area.

A ship may turn from facing one edge of a grid area to an adjacent edge of the same grid area without moving forward a gird area (i.e. on the spot); this turn reduces its movement by 2 grid areas.

A ship may change its direction of movement any number of times during its move but must end its move facing the edge of the grid area not the corner.

A ship may not start, pass through, or end its move in the same grid area as another ship.

The numbers show how many D6 dice are thrown per gun battery or per turret at different ranges.

It is assumed that a gun battery or turret is armed with one or two guns. If the gun battery or turret has more than two guns, increase the number of D6 dice thrown by 2.

Gunfire Rules

All ranges are measured through the edges of the grid areas not the corners.

All the guns in each gun battery or in each turret must fire at the same target.

Each ship may fire only once each turn, although each of the ship’s gun batteries or turrets may engage a different target.

Ships may only fire at targets that are in direct line-of-sight and the targets must be within the arcs-of-fire of the gun battery or turret firing at them.

The target ship is identified. The requisite number of D6 dice is thrown for each gun battery or turret the firing ship is firing with and the range at which the firing is taking place. The results are then read from the Gunfire Results shown below.

Gunfire Results

Double 1: Destroys a gun battery or turret on an unarmoured ship

Double 1 + Any other double: Destroys a gun battery or turret on an armoured ship.

I do like those little cartoony warships. Cute. In the spirit of these vessels, how about a different style of title for the rule set; 'Malice de Mer', say? I might have suggested 'Dreadnaught and Dice', but I seem to be looking at pre-Dreadnaught vessels here. I don't like 'Ships and Pips' - who would?

Finally, just for the sake of offering more than one possibility: 'Boom, Bang [and] Bubbles'... I'm not sure the conjunction 'and' is really required...

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The First Rule of Wargaming and the Spirit of the Wargame

The First Rule:

‘Nothing can be done contrary to what could or would be done in actual war.'

- From 'The Rules of the Naval War Game' by Fred T Jane

The Spirit of the Wargame:

‘Wargames are played, for the most part, without the supervision of an umpire. The game relies on the integrity of the individual players to show consideration for other players and to abide by the rules. All players should conduct themselves in a disciplined manner, demonstrating courtesy and sportsmanship at all times, irrespective of how competitive they may be. This is the spirit of the wargame.’

- Adapted from 'The Spirit of the Game' in 'The Rules of Golf' as published by the R&A Ltd.

About Me

I have been wargaming for as long as I can remember. One of the first toys that I was bought was a wooden fort that was garrisoned by assorted lead soldiers ... and I have never looked back!
The first wargames book I bought was CHARGE! (although I had taken out [and repeatedly read] Donald Featherstone's WAR GAMES book beforehand [and many thanks to John Curry for republishing it!]).
My first 20mm figures were the good old Airfix Guards Infantry and Band (in shocking pink!), soon followed by others as they were released, and by 1968, when I bought my first metal Hinton Hunt 20mm figures, I had a large collection of World War II figures, tanks, guns, and aircraft.
I was a founder member of WARGAME DEVELOPMENTS and have been the treasurer and membership secretary ever since. I have also organised – along with Tim Gow - the annual conference (COW – Conference of Wargamers) for the past ten years.
My main interests are wargaming any wars from 1850 onwards, although I have a special interest in Colonial, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II wargaming.
I also have a special interest in wargames that use square or hex grids for movement and weapon ranges.